Instructions for Degree Candidates

To be considered a prospective graduate, all requirements for graduation must be met. Students who are unsure whether they have fulfilled all requirements for graduation should contact the academic dean in their school as soon as possible.

Do I need to fill out a degree application in order to graduate?

Yes. Contact the Registrar’s Office or your school coordinator for applicable forms and due dates.

Registrar's Office

The Registrar's Office website contains information about filing for degrees, verifying personal information, final examination schedules, privacy rights (F.E.R.P.A.), and transcripts. Visit the site for answers to frequently asked questions.

What do I need to do in order for my name to appear in the Commencement program?

If you have ever placed a F.E.R.P.A. (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) privacy hold on your records, the hold must be removed in order for your name to be listed in the program. Contact the Registrar’s Office for more information.

Students can purchase their custom Emory regalia from Barnes & Noble @ Emory University at the Oak Hall website or in the bookstore. Below you will find 2024 prices for the regalia graduates will wear at Emory’s Commencement ceremonies.

All regalia purchases and rental requests must be made by March 13, 2024 (contact the Bookstore for more information).

Students who are off-campus during the spring semester can order online or contact the Bookstore (404-727-2731 or email Heather La Fleur at hlafleu@emory.edu).

All Emory student regalia is custom-made and the vendor requires 9 weeks to produce the regalia. The Bookstore stocks and continues to sell Bachelors and Masters regalia up until graduation, though students should not wait to purchase their attire. Sizes will become limited and even unavailable as Commencement approaches if not ordered in time.

Honor Cords are obtained through the specific school or organization that is bestowing the honors. Honor Cords are not available in the Bookstore.

At Emory, Bachelors wear cap, gown and tassel and Masters wear cap, gown, hood, and tassel. All gowns are black except Emory’s custom PhD robes which are Emory blue and gold. All hoods and professional or PhD robes feature the color of the discipline traditionally designated for the degree the student earned. Students who earn dual degrees should wear the discipline color for the ceremony in which they will participate. When students purchase regalia, they should be sure of and specify exactly which degree they are earning.

Please note that outside of JD/LLM/ThD/DMin rentals, there will not be an option to order online and pick up in-store. Students wishing to pick up regalia in-store for Bachelors/Masters/MD can purchase it when they come to the store. The option to purchase online and have regalia shipped to your home remains available (except for rental attire, which cannot be shipped to home).

Please visit Oak Hall's website for regalia purchases for Bachelor's, Master's, MD, DNP, and DPT recipients.

For PhD/JD/LLM/ThD/DMin rentals, please visit Oak Hall's website here, and select "Ship to Emory University."

For PhD/JD/LLM/ThD/DMin purchases, please visit Oak Hall's website here.

For Faculty rentals, please visit Oak Hall's website here.

Colors traditionally designated for earned degrees are:

• Arts: white
• Business: drab
• Medicine: green
• Music: pink
• Nursing: apricot
• Science: gold
• Public Health: salmon
• Theology: red
• PhD: dark blue
• Law: purple

Pricing for 2024

• Bachelor (hat, gown, and Emory black tassel): $82.98
• Master (hat, gown, hood, and Emory black tassel): $147.98
• ThD/DMin Candidates Rental (gown, hood, tam & tassel): $220
• ThD/DMin Candidates Purchase (gown, hood & tam): $1,084
• JD/SJD/LLM Candidates Rental (gown, hood, tam & tassel): $220
• JD/SJD/LLM Candidates Purchase (gown, hood, tam & tassel): $1,084
• MD, DPT, DNP Candidates Purchase (gown, hood, tam & tassel): $263.98
• PhD Candidates Rental (gown, tam & tassel): $190
• PhD Candidate Purchase: $881 (If hood is gifted by LGS, please only order robe and tam)

Emory is pleased to announce that Bachelors and Masters gowns are made from 100% post-consumer plastic bottles. These gowns have a smooth finish and are softer to the touch than traditional polyester. Recycling bins will be available at Commencement for those wishing to further aid in the sustainability effort.

Regalia Items Available Separately for Purchase

• Master hood: $59.98
• MD Doctoral hood: $85.00
• MD Doctoral gown: $99.98
• Tams: $79.00
• Cap only: $10.98
• Tassel only: $12.98

Need further information or assistance? Contact Heather La Fleur with Barnes & Noble @ Emory University at hlafleu@emory.edu or 404-727-2731.

Announcements

The official Emory Commencement announcement is available only from Jostens.

Students or parents can order personalized Commencement announcements printed with the student's name, degree, and academic major and embossed with the University seal. A representative for Emory personalized graduation announcements is on hand during Grad Fair (see below). Announcements are not available at the bookstore after Grad Fair but can be purchased at the Jostens website.

Jostens suggests that announcements be ordered at least 6 weeks in advance of graduation date. This covers a 2-3 week creation time for the order, and a suggested 3 week window of delivery to family and friends.

Class Rings

Students may visit the Emory Bookstore to see a display of Emory Class Rings.

Diploma Frames

The Bookstore carries Framing Success and Church Hill diploma frames in several different styles year-round. Both frame vendors are custom sized to fit your Emory diploma. Framing Success uses museum quality preservation mat board to protect your diploma from damaging pollutants and harmful contaminants. Framing Success also uses eco-friendly, certified wood from well-managed forests.

Ads in the Emory Wheel Graduation Magazine

This page contains information about and instructions for placing ads in the 2021 Graduation Magazine intended for family, friends, and Emory organizations/departments who are interested in recognizing seniors. We will update this information for 2023 closer to Commencement Weekend.

Photography

Some schools utilize contract photography services that provide proofs (hard copy or digital) for purchase of each student receiving his or her diploma. Contact your specific school for more information.

Monday, May 13, 2024

8:30 am (student line-up no later than 7:30)

Emory University’s Commencement experience comprises multiple ceremonies and events spanning five days. There is one Emory University Commencement Ceremony on the Quadrangle to which all graduating students and their guests are invited and encouraged to enjoy the pomp and circumstance of Emory’s grand Commencement processional march featuring full academic regalia, the keynote address, honorary degree presentations, the president’s address to the graduating class, and the formal group conferral of all student degrees earned. Additionally, each school hosts its own formal recognition ceremony, also a cap-and-gown event, hosted by the school’s dean, where students are called forward by name to be individually recognized.

All students and guests are invited and encouraged to participate in the Emory University Commencement Ceremony on the Quadrangle on Monday. Given that the Graduate and Professional school Degree Candidate Recognition Ceremonies are held on the days prior to the University Commencement Ceremony, those degree candidates who also wish to participate in the Emory University Commencement Ceremony will join the other graduate and professional degree candidates to march, sit, and be recognized collectively by President Fenves, the Dean of your school, and representatives of the faculty as Emory’s master’s and doctoral degree recipients.

All degree candidates who plan to participate in the Emory University Commencement Ceremony will need to register to attend in order to reserve a place in the march and a seat on the Quadrangle. Check back for registration/ticketing details.

There is no rehearsal for the Commencement ceremony on the Quadrangle. Graduates assemble in cap and gown no later than 7:30 am at locations designated by each school. Return to this website in late April for a map of line-up locations. Graduates should be prompt in order to give the marshals time to arrange the lines accordingly. The procession begins at 8:30 a.m. sharp. The Quadrangle ceremony lasts approximately one hour and thirty minutes.